There's a little restaurant in Nashville that I eat at every time I pass through that uses them. He also sells them and I've been tempted to purchase them. The filet that he sears on the hot salt plate is to die for!

they last quite a while, especially if you make sure the food you cook on them is dry.

Acts a lot like a baking stone, but salty

AVOID:
1 - dropping them
2 - having someone put them in the dishwasher
3 - thermal shock, placing hot plate onto cold surface, or frozen meat on hot plate
4 - leaving them out in the rain

Looks intriguing but $32 seems too steep...

Doesn't seem very sanitary to me.

I'm definitely intrigued . . . but how do you wash it? I'm imagining just a quick wipe-down -- not even a full submersion in water. My initial thought is, "YUCK", but the rational side of me replies, "That's all you've been doing to your baking stone for more than a decade, and it's never made anyone sick."

Fran, just curious: what seems unsanitary about it?

Not that you have to believe them, but the ad copy on the WS site says:
Naturally anti-microbial and easy to clean.

Salting has been used as a way of preserving meats for millennia. I wouldn't think germs would proliferate on a slab of salt...

OK, now you've done it! Another thing on my wish list :-))

I did go to the link, and looked at what other people bought, of course, and noticed they are selling 4 cedar planks for $16.95. DON'T EVER PAY THAT MUCH! Nothing tastes better than salmon grilled on a cedar plank. Simply go to HD or Lowes and buy some untreated cedar fencing and have them cut them into pieces that will fit onto your grill. Soak the planks, oil the side the fish goes on and BBQ on high for 1 minute. Flip, put on the salmon, close the grill and let the un-oiled side burn and smoke. Keep water spray handy to put out flames. Toss the plank when you are done with it.

That salt plate is intriguing.
Suzi

desertdance,

I have questions about your process.

You said:

"Soak the planks, oil the side the fish goes on and BBQ on high for 1 minute. Flip, put on the salmon, close the grill and let the un-oiled side burn and smoke."

Do you soak the planks just in water? For how long?

So, when you are BBQ-inf for 1 minute, the oiled side is down, right? Because you then flip and put the fish on it.

I have never done it but I WILL!

Tx!

eleena, I soak my plank for 2-3 hours in plain water. Wood floats. So, I put water in an empty wine bottle, and that is heavy enough to stop the floating. And, yes! The oiled side gets nice and hot so the fish is sitting on the hot side. The other side gets charred and adds a wonderful flavor to the fish.

I oil and season both sides of the fish before putting it on the plank. You need to cook on high, and you never have to flip the fish. Fish cooks fast. I like the steaks better than the filets because the size varies on the filets. Even slices are easier to get just right.

Also, any type of fish works. Doesn't have to be salmon!

Be sure to put the lid down over the fish and plank so the smoke gets trapped in there. The fish will flake easily when it's done.

Suzi

I wondered the same thing as eleena. You soak the planks and oil one side. You put the oiled side down until everything is hot, then flip it over, so now the oiled side is up, ready to receive the fish (or meat, etc.)? I assume that the oil-side down for one minute doesn't burn it and give it a nasty flavor.

I sure didn't mean to hi-jack this thread, but the oil side doesn't burn in one minute, its really wet, but it gets hot, and that's what you want.

If you google cedar plank grilled salmon recipe, you will get a lot of information. Just don't pay a fortune for those planks!!

Also, prior to oiling the plank on one side, I dry it off with a clean rag. Oil and water don't mix :-))

Suzi

Thank you!

I need to try ASAP. :-)

Interesting. Rather lovely. It would be sanitary with just a rinse. Salt in that form is very dense. I salt cod every summer...it has been a preservative for many years.

Ditto on the cedar plank cooking and no need to buy it in expensive kit form.

High salt concentration causes the cell walls of bacteria to burst, so I am believing the natural antimicrobial feature.

Love cedar planked fish!

hollysprings- what is the name of the restaurant in Nashville, please?

Thanks!
Nancy

Does Bloomberg know?

Cafe Rakka in Hendersonville, just north of Nashville. And for lunch, the eggplant sandwich and some hummus and their cucumber water will fill you up very fast.

Valentines Day special on the salt plate.
{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Cafe Rakka on Urbanspoon